Help: PNG keeps blurring when scaled down 50%

[Lila_Artist711]

Hi there, any help would be much appreciated. 

I have been trying to scale a transparent PNG down in PS by 50%, but it keeps blurring the image (Transform > Scale > Width and Height to 50%). I have tried converting it into a smart object and scaling it down, changing the interpolation options, sizing it down in AI and then placing it in Photoshop, but the image is always blurry no matter what I do. Anti-Alias is also greyed out. 

Here are the stats of my PNG:

W: 1024 px

H: 2048 px

Res: 240 ppi

Any help would be much appreciated because I haven't been able to find a solution anywhere.

[gener7]

Try Image > Image Size > 50 percent, checkmark Resample and select Bicubic or Automatic then OK to commit.

Also view the reduced image at 100% zoom (actual size) where it is most sharp.

[Lila_Artist711]

Thanks @gener7  for replying. I've tried that too, but the image is still very blurry unfortunately.

[Brad @ Roaring Mouse]

When you throw away pixels, you are setting yourself up for this loss of quality.

As @gener7 said, use Image Size to reduce to 50%.

Your two best options are Bicubic Sharpen (reduction), or (my preference for this) Nearest Neighbour.

Nearest Neighbour will prevent any antialiasing whatsoever. You will see more choppy bitmaps, but to the naked eye, they will look crisper.

[Bojan Živković]

"sizing it down in AI and then placing it in Photoshop, but the image is always blurry no matter what I do. Anti-Alias is also greyed out. "

If you need image in Photoshop what is the way you import it there? Exporting from Illustrator then placing in Photoshop? It looks sharp after exporting from Illustrator? Please check magnification or viewing level, it should be 100% to judge correctly.